This invention relates to a universal package outsert, and related method, and more particularly, to a universal, multiply, non-jamming, package outsert having multiple folds, which is manufactured from an integral sheet of stock, the outsert having compact edges about its periphery, which are inserted into (or otherwise applied to) packages to provide printed information, instructions and/or warnings to the users of the product, for example, for pharmaceutical products, and the like.
With respect to high-speed manufacturing of package outserts, a significant and important development is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,195 issued Mar. 14, 1989 titled "Method And Apparatus For Making Outserts" (to VIJUK) where outserts are taught to be initially manufactured in multiples (say, of two, four, or six across) and then slit into individual outserts. This particular reference is a major advancement in the prior art with respect to increased speeds of operation of the associated machines and equipment used to manufacture folded outserts, as well as in the actual construction of the outsert itself, to facilitate high-speed manufacturing of the outsert. The completed outsert described in this patent is folded a number of times with the outermost fold of the outsert being glued tight to an inner fold to make a tight folded outsert having open edges about its periphery. Occasionally, open peripheral edges of an outsert may become problematic with respect to any manufacturing process, as the edges may get snagged or otherwise caught by the equipment used. The more folds an outsert contains, the thicker the outsert becomes, and the more problematic open edges of a completed outsert become. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to develop a universal multi-ply, multi-fold compact outsert that has compact edges about its periphery and which is manufactured without the need to trim the completed outsert to an acceptable size.
Esthetically, and practically, the copyspace of a multi-ply, multi-fold outsert is limited by the height of the outsert (i.e., limited to a maximum of about three inches high) and/or by the overall length of the outsert (i.e., limited to a maximum of about forty inches long). The size of the lettering used for the printed informational material has become an industry trend at legible type size (i.e., six point type size). This problem has caused outsert manufacturers to think about how to increase the amount of copyspace, given a requirement of legible type size, for an outsert without significantly increasing the size of the finished outsert. Along with this issue of maximizing copyspace for an outsert is the related problem associated with miniature folding of outserts (that is, as the number of multiple folds increases in the outsert, the harder it becomes to make the next additional fold, until some upper limit is reached in the absolute number of total folds that are possible for a given outsert, which cannot be overcome without a resulting increase in the overall size of the outsert). It would be advantageous to have a multi-ply, multi-fold outsert that will maximize the total number of folds that are possible to achieve within the smallest physical envelope that is available.
Originally, multi-ply, multi-fold outserts were placed within individual product cartons. Environmental considerations, as well as the need to reduce total packaging costs, has resulted in a new industry trend with respect to pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and similar products, with regard to the elimination of the usual retail cartons (which contain the retail product within) with the sale of the product at the retail outlet. It would be advantageous to have a universal, multi-ply, multi-fold outsert that is consistent with this new industry trend to eliminate individual retail product cartons and just shrink-wrap (or other suitable package application) the pharmaceutical product with the outsert positioned directly on the retail product (and then shrink-wrapped, or otherwise suitably applied), rather than in a separate carton. Further, it would be advantageous to have a universal, multi-ply, multi-fold outsert that may be used with or without separate product cartons.
Conventionally, multi-ply, multi-fold outserts may be sealed closed (i) by the use of glue spots at predetermined outsert locations or (ii) by the use of associated glue holes (that contain a suitable adhesive) at predetermined outsert locations. It would be advantageous to have a universal multi-ply, multi-fold outsert which either may be sealed closed (glued), or remain unglued, and nevertheless remain in a folded and compact relationship, nevertheless remain holding the outsert together when unglued.
The present invention is directed toward overcoming the various problems found in the prior art described above.